Varsity Football reflects on season

As the season came to a close, the Varsity Football team did not finish as it would have hoped with an overall record of 3-7 and a league record of 2-3 for 2013-2014, placing fourth in Rio Hondo, and barely not qualifying for the final seed of C.I.F. this year. Despite this, the Rams still had a solid season.
The Rams began their preseason off to a rocky start as they lost to Simi Valley High School and Arroyo by margins of 53 and 38 points. The players regrouped, and managed to find success bouncing back to claim a victory against Alhambra by a margin of 31 points.

Both teams started off slow, scoring no points in the first quarter. In the second quarter Temple City put up 22 points, while holding the Moors to zero points, and eventually came out went to win. However, some struggles on defense and lack of communication caused the boys to lose the next two preseason games against Rosemead and Eagle Rock.
“Even though we didn’t have the preseason we wanted, it really helped us prepare for league and fix some mistakes on defense and offense we were making,” Senior Nick Kaneko said. “We knew there were going to be some tough games in Rio Hondo, especially San Marino and Monrovia.”
The Rams started off league with a disappointing loss against the Monrovia Wildcats at home with a score of 54-0. The good running game combined with suffocating defense were the keys to Monrovia’s victory. However, this game was a wake up call as it pointed out many of the flaws on offense and defense that they had to fix immediately for the next game.
With the Monrovia defeat still lingering in their heads, the Rams came out motivated and focused when they went out to win 49-0 against Blair getting their first victory in Rio Hondo.
The team carried this momentum straight into the third game by defeating South Pasadena 48-13. Unfortunately, in the next game the San Marino Titans proved to be too much for Temple City as the Rams suffered a loss, which made their league record 2-2.

Then, in the final game against the La Cañada Spartans, not only was a victory on the line, but the team who won would also advance to the C.I.F. Preliminaries. Even though the Rams gave it their best shot, they fell short 31-7 to the Spartans, ending their season. The boys look to improve upon this year by adding some new plays on offense and better communication on defense.
“It was a devastating and terrible way to end our season. Some guys were banged up and we started too slow,” Junior Nathan Ruiz said. “All that is left now is to start getting ready for next year. With most of the starting members being juniors and returning for next year, we will surely be better and stronger.”